Photo Van - NB Sante Fe (Denver: photo radar, 2013, neighborhood)

[lovethehighcountry]

Well, I'm sure anyone who travels this area regularly knows about this van. I thought I would give another warning for anyone visiting Denver. Not living in the city, I had no idea about this fine speed trap.

A few weeks ago I was in Denver for the morning, about an hours drive from home. Driving with the flow of traffic at around 55mph, I see a sign that a lane is merging on the left, so I move into the right lane to avoid that mess. A sign for 45 mph came up and I coasted. People in the left lane were acting really strange, figured due to the merging lane, and nobody was in front of me at this point so I just wanted to stay away from the mess in the left lane. Suddenly it dropped to 25 mph and I started braking. Within 50 yards of the sign a van was parked and I could not slow down fast enough. I saw the flash and knew why everyone was driving so dumb. This morning I got my notice that the van clocked me at 35mph, exactly the threshold for the "violation."

I can appreciate these photo enforcements where there is a legitimate concern, such as a school zone. This section of the road was obviously set up just to make a speed trap. There was no rational reason for a three lane highway to drop to 25 mph, especially in such a short distance. From my one pass through there, it is just causing more problems as people slam on their brakes to avoid the photo van than it could possibly be protecting anyone.

Be careful out there!

[2bindenver]

Murphy: Denver's photo traffic enforcement on the radar - The Denver Post
then read
Photo radar tickets may not be worth the paper they’re written on | KDVR.com

[denverian]

They use these all over. But if you're paying attention, they do post a sign about a block before the van.

[KaaBoom]

Originally Posted by lovethehighcountry

Well, I'm sure anyone who travels this area regularly knows about this van. I thought I would give another warning for anyone visiting Denver. Not living in the city, I had no idea about this fine speed trap.

A few weeks ago I was in Denver for the morning, about an hours drive from home. Driving with the flow of traffic at around 55mph, I see a sign that a lane is merging on the left, so I move into the right lane to avoid that mess. A sign for 45 mph came up and I coasted. People in the left lane were acting really strange, figured due to the merging lane, and nobody was in front of me at this point so I just wanted to stay away from the mess in the left lane. Suddenly it dropped to 25 mph and I started braking. Within 50 yards of the sign a van was parked and I could not slow down fast enough. I saw the flash and knew why everyone was driving so dumb. This morning I got my notice that the van clocked me at 35mph, exactly the threshold for the "violation."

I can appreciate these photo enforcements where there is a legitimate concern, such as a school zone. This section of the road was obviously set up just to make a speed trap. There was no rational reason for a three lane highway to drop to 25 mph, especially in such a short distance. From my one pass through there, it is just causing more problems as people slam on their brakes to avoid the photo van than it could possibly be protecting anyone.

Be careful out there!

Construction zone? Actually looks like it goes from 45 to 35 to 25. But yeah it would probably be dangerous for you to slow down that fast in heavy traffic. You'd have to hit your brakes pretty hard to do it. The city's version I'm sure is that they are just looking out for the construction workers. The reality is, they are just raising revenue for the city. The double fines will make it very profitable to keep the van parked there.

[Snikt]

I hate stuff like this, I flick this van off every time I see it. Sometimes there is a guy in it, usually not

[lovethehighcountry]

That's it kaboom, although it looked a bit different with lots of traffic on it.

It is a "construction zone", and I was being vigilant watching for workers (of which there were none) and the other drivers, without my foot so much as even on the gas pedal. I was not watching for it to drop to 25mph ... we have very similar construction zones right here on diagonal highway and they are 40mph. As one can see, the distance between the 35 mph sign and the 25 mph sign is laughable (although I distinctly remember seeing the 35mph sign ... the radar clocked me at 35), and the van was parked just past the 25 mph sign. According to my Denver friends, they move that van around.

I never saw the blue "photo enforcement zone". Apparently it is on the left hand side of the road, somewhere I couldn't see due to the semi trucks coming to a stop. Those same semi trucks also block the 25 mph sign from any distance away due to the way to road curves.

[denverian]

I've noticed they tend to be in the same place over and over, especially where they've recently lowered the speed limit. There has been one on and off on MLK Blvd. in Stapleton where they lowered the speed limit through the Eastbridge neighborhood. They lowered the limit from 35 to 30, which seems too slow to me. But then people were commonly doing 50+ through there.

[KaaBoom]

Originally Posted by lovethehighcountry

I never saw the blue "photo enforcement zone". Apparently it is on the left hand side of the road, somewhere I couldn't see due to the semi trucks coming to a stop. Those same semi trucks also block the 25 mph sign from any distance away due to the way to road curves.

It's a classic speed trap. Cops never sit on the road going out of down where the speeds are going up. They would never get any revenue that way. They sit right past a lower speed limit sign, and grab any car they want. The photo radar gets every car.

[todd00]

What I hate is how agencies state its about safety when its really just a way to make big bucks. There are other ways to get people to slow down, but that won't net them any money, so forget that. If a particular school zone is a problem then a traffic cop should be monitoring the area. But he can't write tickets like the camera can. And its all about volume.

[Willy702]

The tickets cost less than regular speeding tickets given by an office, they don't put points on your driving record and as noted in the above stories they are a bit dubious in if they are legal tickets or not. Yes a money grab, but that is what the state has created with its taxation policies. Most cities in the metro area are fairly aggressive about writing tickets because it is an important part of revenue raising when property taxes are so low. Where else in the country do city police sit on interstate freeways with a radar gun 3-4 rush hours a week?